37 Blessings

Today I am 37. I started a new birthday tradition in 2009, and have done it each year since. And of course I couldn’t resist doing it again in 2013.

Some of the blessings are the same, as they always will be. But as with each year, things change and there are new blessings.

So here is this year’s list of 37 Blessings…

1. a gracious and faithful God
2. my husband who works hard every day to provide for us- we just celebrated 10 years of marriage!
3. Grace- for her sweet spirit, her imagination, her compassion
4. Owen- for his determination, his rough and tumble boyishness, his strength
5. my parents- always supportive in any way they can be
6. my sis- I only see you every six months, but it is always as if no time has passed.
7. my in-laws (the whole lot of them)
8. that my husband, my mom and my sister are my best friends
9. that I have a small core group of friends who I can always turn to
10. that Danny has a job that he enjoys and is challenging for him
11. that my children are healthy- Owen is the strongest he has ever been!
12. my job. I love my co-workers and my boss. I love that it is a safe and caring place and that Owen is just down the hall again this year as he got to do an extra year of pre-k before afternoon kindergarten
13. that I am able to be home with my kids after school, I can get them at the bus, when they are sick I can be home with them and I don’t feel too guilty about missing work.
14. that I still have one living Grandparent (Dad’s mom, just turned 93) and that Danny has two!
15. the Ducks are still rockin’ it. What a fun time to be a fan, of football, basketball, and track!
16. that we live in a safe community
17. the kid’s school- wonderful teachers and staff
18. James 1: 2-3 (NIV) Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance.
19. I became an aunt again:)
20. I am going to have a new sister-in-law!
21. a couple of super nice neighbors that I have enjoyed having nearby
22. health insurance – that we have it, and it is sufficient…
23. that food is plenty for us – Proverbs 30:8 “Give me neither poverty nor riches,” he asked, “but give me only my daily bread.”
24. our library!
25. that Grace loves to read. I love finding her new books that I think she will like and then hearing “I love this book! I knew I would love it when I read the first sentence!”
26. watching Owen learn how to read, seeing the look of pride on his face when he sounds out new words
27. “Every experience God gives us, every person he brings into our lives, is the perfect preparation for the future that only he can see.” Corrie ten Boom
28. the kiddos in my classes at school- so fun to watch them grow as the year progresses
29. Proverbs 19:21 Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the LORD’s purpose that prevails.
30. Oregon rain
31. Mochas…and even just plain old coffee:)
32. that I have had quiet afternoons with both kids at school, my first consistent alone time since Grace was born…
33. that God has a plan, even when we don’t know what it is
34. that we are making plans to move back home
35. that I am sad to leave this home…what a blessing this place has been the last 3 years, the fact that I am sad just proves it!
36. that we are embarking on a new adventure and that the kids are excited and that we will be much closer to family
37. another year with my sweet family